Ladder and stool combined



Sept. 5, 1961 W. D. EARLEY LADDER AND STOOL COMBINED Filed June 8, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Walter D. Ear/ey 1N VENTORv Sept. 5, 1961 w. D. EARLEY 2,998,862

LADDER AND STOOL COMBINED Filed June 8, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Walter 0. E ar/ey IN VEN TOR.

BY 2mm WWW 19% Patented Sept. 5, I861 2,998,862 LADDER AND STOOL CGMBINED WalterD. Earley, 15 Ron Ave., Port Jelferson Station, N31. Filed June 8, 1959, Ser. No. 818,814 Claims. (Cl. 182--33.2)

The present invention relates to a step stool resembling step-equipped kitchen stools which are currently and popularly used and pertains, more particularly, to a practical advance in this art wherein a novel step-ladder and safety supporting member are embodied in the construction thus providing an improved stool and ladder combination.

With a view toward extending the over-all utility of a kitchen stool in a worth-while and practical manner, it was discovered that by merely adding a few simple expedients in correct mechanical relationship a highly satisfactory extensible and retractable ladder-like safety supporting member could [be successfully embodied in a kitchen stool construction without undesirably departing from the usual mode of construction followed in this line of endeavor.

More specifically, in carrying out the underlying principles of the present invention, it was discovered that it is practical to divide the lower and median portions of the front rung-equipped legs and attach upper solid portions of the front legs to a hingedly mounted seat section and, having done so, a convertible or combination stool, ascending ladder and safety supporting means resulted.

The invention also features a two-part or sectional chair or stool bottom (preferably one with a back rest), one section constituting a stationary part and the other a movable or swingable part, making it possible to swing the movable section atop the stationary section and to carry the major portions of the front legs therewith, said front legs having rungs capable of being reliably used as convenient elevated hand-grips, enabling the user to ascend, stand on the seat and to use the rungs and the then existing ladder rails for steadying himself.

Another improvement resides in providing a step just beneath the chair or stool bottom which is satisfactorily and effectively braced and which cooperates with a lower step at the front of the stool to assist the user in making a safe and reliable climb from floor level to the level of the chair or stool bottom or seat, all in a manner which will be hereinafter clarified.

Then, too, novelty is predicated on the use of a single centrally and pivotally mounted latch which has a double purpose or function, that is, serves when the front legs are down to keep the same in the down position and when the legs are up makes it possible to satisfactorily main tain the legs in this up and reliably usable position, the latch being engaged over the upper portion of the back rest of the chair or stool.

Other objects, features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying illustrative, but not restrictive, drawing.

In the drawing, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views;

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the ready-to-use kitchen-style step stool or high type utility stool as it is sometimes called.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view ofthe upper part of the combination or convertible stool taken on the plane of the irregular vertical line 2-2 of FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view in side elevation similar to FIG. 2 but showing how the parts cooperate when the movable part of the stool has been unlatched and swung up to the safety occupant steadying position.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the ladder arrangement seen in FIG. 4 (a comparison of FIGS. 1 and 5 shows the conversion aspects of the concept).

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view in section and elevation taken on the line 6-6 and detailing the latch and its construction and use.

\ FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the latch.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view taken on the plane of the section line 88 of FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows. p

The bottom or seat of the stool or chair is denoted, as an entity, by the letter A and the upstanding back-rest at B. The entire part beneath the seat A and which is broadly a support is referred to, also broadly, as a leg frame C.

The means A comprises a two-part or sectional seat and the stationary back part or section is denoted at 10. The complemental front section is denoted at 12 and the adjacent edge portions of the two sections 10 and 12 are joined by appropriate leaf hinges 14. While the hinges are shown quite visibly in FIG. 1, for example, it is obvious that in actual practice they will be embedded or even completely hidden. The idea here is to provide hinged, suitably shaped, abutting and cooperating sections 10 and 12 forming a stool chair bottor or seat. The back-rest is short, as usual, and comprises vertical rounds 16 joined rigidly at their lower ends to the seat section 16 and rigidly at their upper ends to the curvate back support or rest 18. The leg frame comprises a pair of ordinary elongated intact legs which may be designated as the rear legs 20. These legs are connected together by bracing rungs 2 2. As to the front legs, when they are in the ordinary or normal position seen in FIG. 1, one would not notice that they are any different from conventional chair legs. However, by carefully inspecting the same, it will be noticed that the upper portions 24- are solid and are joined rigidly to the front corners of the underneath side of the hinged seat section 12. Portions of the legs below the top side rungs 28 are split or divided lengthwise and the fixed leg sections, carried by the rungs 28, are denoted at 30 and the relatively movable leg halves or sections are denoted at 32. When the components or sections 30 and 32 of the front legs are solidly together, the coacting shoulders denoted generally at 34 (FIG. 6) provide a firm joint. Attention is directed at this time to the upper solid portions 24 in FIG. 6 whicht carry a front rung 36 which in turn has a hooked end 38 of a manually actuatable latch 40 pivotally connected thereto. The laterally bent free end portion 42 is adapted to fit into a keeper seat 44 in the manner shown. This keeper seat is' formed by providing a simple recess or kerf in the upper stationary stool step 48. This step 48 is situated within the confines of the front and rear legs 20 and 24 and the end portions are secured on the underlying side rungs 28. Diagonal stabilizing braces 50 are provided, and these are connected at their lower ends with the step 48 and rigidly at their upper ends with the underneath median end por tions of the stationary seat board or section 10. The auxiliary rungs 52 and 54 are connected to the half sections 32 where they cooperate satisfactorily in providing the desired balance and support when the simple liftable and lowerable step-ladder is in the safety position seen, for example, in FIG. 5. The lowermost step of the stool is denoted at 56 and it is of any suitable construction as shown and it has a forward portion 58 projecting through and beyond the legs where it is readily available for practical use.

Novelty is predicated on a high type step stool characterized by a bottom or seat A with a short upstanding back-rest B and an underneath leg frame characterized by legs with their upper ends attached to the seat and a lower step 56 carried by the front legs and an upper step 48 mounted on the rungs 28 which stabilize the upper portions of the front and back legs 2% and 24, particularly wherein this step 48 is n'gidified by conjunctive connection with the seat section 10 by way of diagonal braces 50.

Novelty is also predicated on the construction above set forth in combination with the front legs having solid upper portions and longitudinally split lower portions, with the split portions defining separable and connectible halves 3t) and 32, with the halves 30 forming stationary parts of the leg frame, and the halves 32 being joined thereto by way of a simple latch 40 mounted on a rung 36 and connectible by a keeper and slot with the step 48.

The idea of a sectional chair bottom A with a leg frame and with the split front legs providing sections used in making up a ladder by way of the hinged front section of the seat and rungs mounted on the front legs is also an advance in the art. It is to be noticed in the stool arrangement in FIG. 1 that the detent or keeper 42 on the latch 40 extends or fits into the keeper seat 44 in the step 4-8. The same latch, however, hooks over the back-rest 13 when the safety support means is brought into play and at which time it becomes an extension reaching above the back-rest and prow'ding a stabilizing ladder for the user, making it safe to stand, if desired, atop the folded sections 10 and 12 as seen in FIG. 4 and better illustrated in FIG. in an obvious manner.

It will be evident that the concept herein disclosed and fully explained makes it evident, it is believed, that a person using the stool as a ladder has elevated upstanding rails 32 and grips 52. to hold onto, that is, whether standing on the bottom step or the top. So far as has been ascertained, no step-stools on the market offer any satisfactory means to hold onto while being used under certain circumstances. A person, for example, changing a ceiling light bulb in the center of the room, must--that is, on now existing step-stools-balance himself with no safeguarding support to rely upon. He is called upon often to stand on the top step and to reach up, frequently quite dangerously. The present invention offers a needed balancing support feature which is highly desirable in preventing accidents. It may be mentioned here that the invention is an improvement on a patent granted to me on April 25, 1950, and identified as No. 2,505,607. The instant invention is safely rigid and inexpensive compared to the prior patent and which also accounts for the desire to stress here the adequacy of support and confidence afforded in ascending and descending the steps. It may be added, too, that in the prior patented construction, trial and error and experimentation proved the construction to be insecure and, what is also important, too expensive. By comparison, the invention herein under consideration is a practical and reliable advance in the art.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In combination, a horizontal seat embodying complemental front and rear sections normally coplanar and having adjacent cooperating edges hinged together and permitting the front section to be swung up and positioned atop the rear section, a leg frame positioned and mounted beneath said seat and embodying a pair of rear legs secured at upper ends to and depending from the rear seat section, a short back-rest fixed to and rising vertically above the rear section, a pair of main front legs commensurate in length with the rear legs and having upper ends fixed to a forward edge portion of the front seat section, said front legs depending from said main front section, the median and lower portions of said front legs having spaced rungs afiixed thereto and adapted to serve as handgrips, a third rung fixed across upper portions of said front legs and provided on a median portion thereof with a pivotally mounted latch having a keeper hook, upper and lower ladder steps supported on said leg frame, said upper step being alined with said third rung and having a keeper seat in which said keeper hook may be releasably seated, a pair of auxiliary front legs embodied rigidly in said leg frame and cooperating with the rear legs to support said seat and steps, said auxiliary legs extending from the level of the upper step to floor level and cooperating with the rear legs in supporting the seat and stops when the main front legs are elevated in conjunction with the front seat section to provide a safety-type support and steadying member for the user, said latch being also releasably en gageable with an upper edge of the back-rest and serving to hold said steadying member in an upstanding position with portions thereof projecting above the back-rest.

2. In combination, a seat comprising complemental normally coplanar front and rear sections, adjacent cooperating edges of the two sections being joined by hinge means allowing the front section to be folded atop the rear section, a leg frame beneath and supporting said seat and having a pair of rear legs rigidly attached to and depending from the rear section and rendering said rear section relatively stationary, a backrest fixedly mounted on and rising from the rear section, a pair of front legs commensurate in length with the rear legs and having upper portions attached to and depending from the underneath side of the front section, said front section being a movable section, median and lower portions of the front legs being longitudinally parted and providing outward and inward sections, the inward sections being joined to their respective rear legs by connecting rungs, the outward section being s'wingable toward and from the inward sections and having rungs connecting the same and providing a liftable and lowerable ladder-like support which when swung upwardly to a position extending above the seat and back-rest functions as a safeguarding and steadying member for the user, a step fixed on said leg frame wholly beneath the seat and provided with a keeper recess, and a latch pivotally mounted on a rung provided therefor on the front legs and having a keeper hook releasably engageable with said keeper recess.

3. A combination step stool and ladder for kitchen use comprising a sectional seat having a back-rest fixedly mounted on a rear stationary section of said seat, a front movable section pivotally connected to said rear section, a leg frame mounted beneath and supporting said sectional seat, said leg frame embodying a pair of rear legs, a pair of front legs, a plurality of rungs rigidly connecting the rear legs and portions of the front legs together, a first lower step fixedly mounted on lower ones of the rungs and cooperating with and having a portion projecting forwardly beyond cooperating lower portions of said front legs, a second step located in a plane above the first step and in a plane below the seat and having end portions supported on adjacent cooperating rungs, depending braces connecting end portions of said second step to the underneath side of said rear stationary part of said seat, upper portions of said front legs being joined to said pivotally mounted front seat section and having a down position when usable in conjunction with the rear legs as principal stool supports and having an elevated position with portions extending above the plane of the seat when in an upstanding occupant-supporting and steadying position, and adapted to assist in supporting a person ascending the ladder steps, said front legs providing side rails, and cross-rungs carried by said side rails and adjusted to be caught hold of by the user.

4. A combination step stool and ladder comprising a leg frame having attached steps to be ascended by the user, a first seat section fixed horizontally atop the leg frame, an upstanding back-rest fixed on said seat section, a second seat section pivotally connected to said first seat section and folded and resting atop the first seat section,

a pair of relatively long legs secured to and rising vertically from an upwardly facing surface of said second seat section and providing vertical hand rails and having median portions thereof resting against a front side of the back-rest and upper portions extending well above the upper part of said back rest, vertically spaced handgrips carried by said rails, a latch supported from said rails and releasably connected to said back-rest, said second seat section being adapted to be swung down, ac

companied by the legs and then supported by said legs coplanar with the first seat section, said legs being commensurate in length with complemental rear legs of the leg frame and being adapted to confront and cooperate with adjacent front legs embodied in said leg frame.

5. A combination step stool and ladder comprising a leg frame having attached steps to be ascended by the user, a first seat section fixed horizontally atop the leg frame, an upstanding back-rest fixed on said seat section, a second seat section pivotally connected to said first seat section and folded and resting atop the first seat section, a pair of relatively long legs secured to and rising vertically from an upwardly facing surface of said second seat section and providing vertical hand rails and having median portions thereof resting against a front side of the back-rest and upper portions extending well above the upper partof said back-rest, vertically spaced hand-grips carried by said rails, a latch supported from said rails and releasably connected to said back-rest, said second seat section adapted to swing from its position atop the first seat section accompanied by the legs and then supported by said legsin a position coplanar with the first seat section, said legs being commensurate in length with the complemental rear legs of the leg frame and being adapted to confront and cooperate with adjacent front legs embodied in said leg frame, a step fixed on the front portion of the leg frame and having a recess providing a keeper seat, and said latch having a keeper hook releasably positioned in said keeper seat.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 371,128 Dudley Oct. 4, 1887 967,903 Haas Aug. 23, 1910 1,719,004 Eos July 2, 1929 1,950,591 Bing Mar. 13, 1934 2,291,996 Tucker Aug. 4, 1942 2,512,827 Collin June 27, 1950 

